Arenas charged in gun case [Updated]

Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas was charged Thursday with felony gun possession, a crime that carries a maximum five years in jail and a fine, authorities said.

The charge was announced Thursday afternoon by the U.S. Attorney's office for the District.

Arenas's attorney and prosecutors had been negotiating a plea deal during the day and it was not immediately clear whether the filing of charges was a part of the deal. Court officials said they had been told to prepare to have Arenas in Superior Court on Friday.

The police tend to take a pretty open and shut view of things. He had firearms illegally, he confessed to that so on the surface there is not a lot of latitude here he is... guilty. Will be interesting to see how hard a line they take in sentencing.

as much as everyone views this as the wizards' best opportunity to blow up the team and start over, it definitely represents a sad day for this washington franchise, and the washington sports community. not too many years ago, gilbert was hailed as a budding superstar that washington could call its own.

The contract will almost certainly be voided if he's convicted or pleas to the felony charge. It's less clear whether the Wiz can void the contract based simply on a felony charge.

Innocent until proven guilty. A charge is not a conviction.

Not sure what the legal baseline for invoking the "moral turpitude" clause is.

A misdemeanor plea or conviction might have been sufficient.

However, in the event that Arenas wins out on the felony charge I don't see what recourse the Wizards would have for voiding the contract.

They can fine and suspend him for conduct that's detrimental to the team, but they can't just void the contract because he got in a situation which created aggravation for the team. The bar for a voided contract is going to be higher.

What a horrific miscarriage of justice. I hope this becomes another landmark case against Washington DC's preposterous gun laws. My sympathies go out to him and his family for being persecuted for expressing his second amendment rights.

But so far we have punished every famous person who has ever done anything wrong. Now if we could just get the real criminals and not just the famous people our streets would actually be safe. Funny I dont worry about getting carjacked by Gilbert Arenas or Plaxico Burress but I still worry about it.

uh, sentencing does not come until after conviction. Usually, you are charged with a crime (indicted) and then you plea to a lower charge. That is essentially what Mike Lee was reporting yesterday. Gil is actively seeking to plea down to a misdemeanor.

Think of it as negotiating for the purchase of a car. The dealer doesn't list the cost of the car at its final asking price. Likewise, prosecutors tend to charge people with the most severe possible penalty from which a defendant pleas.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Capitol Police arrested a top aide to Sen. Jim Webb on Monday after he tried to enter a Senate office building carrying a loaded pistol and two fully loaded magazines that belonged to the senator.

Phillip Thompson sent a bag through the X-ray machine at Russell Senate Office Building, where Webb's office is located. It detected the weapon and Capitol Police say they determined that Thompson didn't have a license to carry the gun in Washington, D.C. Thompson was arrested and charged with carrying a pistol without a license and possession of an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition.

Funny but I dont recall him being charged with a Felony. And that happened in 07 while there was still a gun ban in DC as well as on Federal Property. I guess Thompson was not famous enough to warrant felony charges. Not dark enough as well.

@stw9454...i guess i gotta go read the second amendment. Didn't realize it said you can carry 4 guns across state lines to your place of business, hide them, and threaten coworkers with them. That will come in handy!

stw, you're obviously an idiot. One who professes to defend the second amendment should actually know what it means, unless you're one of those fanatics who thinks that any gun regulation is unconstitutional.

What a horrific miscarriage of justice. I hope this becomes another landmark case against Washington DC's preposterous gun laws. My sympathies go out to him and his family for being persecuted for expressing his second amendment rights.

Posted by: stw9454

If anyone expresses their Second Amendment rights at my office, I will fire them after pistol-whipping them with their own gun.

stw, you're obviously an idiot. One who professes to defend the second amendment should actually know what it means, unless you're one of those fanatics who thinks that any gun regulation is unconstitutional.

Posted by: ZardsFan1

Yes yes, obviously. Of course some regulation needs to be in effect. Like keeping guns away from convicted criminals, or preventing people from having significant explosive ordinance. But having an unloaded handgun kept in a locker? Or, as DC's ordinances state, having a gun without a preposterously rigorous permit process? Unnecessary and arguably unconstitutional.

And after looking up things further, i realized that it is the feds. sorry @p1funk.

The late Carl Rove, who wrote for the post shot a young trespasser with an unregistered hand gun and was not charged at all. Several members of congress have been stopped for bringing firearms to their workplace. None of them are facing felony charges. I guess our justice department picks and chooses who they want to charge based on public opinion. No consistency.

in 2006 i was charged with a serious crime. By the time i went to court i was able to negotiate a plea deal to a lesser charge that had far less stringent guidelines. I would expect the same thing to come out of this Gil situation.

However, the NBA has rules about this, as well and when Arenas signed his contract, he became bound by those rules.

JPR - are you sure there is a "Moral Turpitude" clause in his contract? And if so, how would you know this?

Also, if there is, is there an enforcement mechanism within the contract for violating said clause?

lastly, since Moral Turpitude generally is defined as "lying, cheating & Stealing" I doubt he would be in violation anyway.

Even if the more strict and less often used "conduct contrary to community standards" definition was used, I think he would have a good case to say that DC's community standards (not legal standards) are not contrary to carrying guns.

There is a ton of political pressure here not found in the other cases mentioned.

If there is confusion about DC's Gun Laws or a feeling that they've become lax following the recent Supreme Court decision, then this is a great opportunity to demonstrate to the public that DC is still the toughest city in the Nation on guns.

Second, I imagine that the Pollins and the Leonsis group gives plenty of campaign contributions to city officials. The relationship between WSE and the city is profitable for both, so I think they'd prefer to take care of each other. A felony charge is a $111MM "out" for the Wiz and a chanve to rebuild so that is obviously their prefered charge. An illegal scratch-my-back conversation isn't even needed; the Wiz ownership gave a clear signal of the preferences to prosecuters in this case by removing the giant Arenas' sign from the building.

And those are just two political angles. I'm sure there are more. Gil is up against the Man.

So, I took 51 as the win total for the team this year and now officially saying that i was wrong.

I am now thinking 25 but hioping for 12 so we can have a decent chance at a good pick.

I can't believe i am talking draft in January, but this team is a disgrace. This year's draft is 5x what last year's was. Trade everyone for picks for the next 4 years and let's load up on young players

of course we would still hire over the hill guys off waivers and play them instead of the younguns.

Off the court, Gilbert is a perfect example of someone who "plays the fool" so that he can say to the king -- or the GM, his teammates or the public -- whatever the hell he feels like saying, but then he gets to hide behind, "Oh, you know I'm just kidding. I'm a goofball." The modern term for fool?

I certainly don't think Gil is a cold dessert or harmlessly deranged either. There wasn't too much that was "harmless" about the gun incident. And he's always seemed perfectly lucid -- in fact, I'd say he's smart, quick, the opposite of deranged -- when I've talked to him. But the second half of the definition is on target: somewhere along the way in his trek from child prodigy to $100-million superstar, he certainly seems to have lost his "common powers of understanding." That is where The Photo comes into play.

The reason he's in trouble is bringing his guns to town for the "pick one" stunt. But the reason he is in SO MUCH trouble is all his tweeting, his I-did-nothing-wrong nonsense and, above all, "The Photo." Without that picture with his finger-guns -- which was a consciously planned insult to his entire industry, his team and everybody who's ever supported him -- everybody, including me, would be working their way around to saying, "Well, so many people have done so many things that were so much worse than Goofy Gilbert that we shouldn't over-react when he's punished."

I'd say that the NBA should give him a second chance -- but starting next season. And the Wizards should try to void his contract (they probably can't) or trade him (eating a ton of that salary). But whatever they do, he needs to play his next game in some other town. Whatever you have to do to shed him, I don't think you can ever build a true winning team around a star player once he's shown that he's three kinds of fool.

Posted by: SteveMG | January 14, 2010 5:07 PM | Report abuse
i think div3 was saying that they only charged him with 1 count because they plan on him pleading out to a lesser charge. No need to charge him with 4 counts of anything if the agreed upon plan is to offer a misdemeanor plea. i've been hearing about him pleading out to a misdemeanon for the past 2 days, perhaps they released the info from the felony charging papers so it wouldn't look like they went soft on a celeb when he takes the misdemeanor plea.

'The relationship between WSE and the city is profitable for both, so I think they'd prefer to take care of each other. A felony charge is a $111MM "out" for the Wiz and a chanve to rebuild so that is obviously their prefered charge.'

you have to wonder when he ends up charged with the minimum that would enable the team to likely void the deal. Charging him the 4 possession misdemeanors would have carried more potential jail time right?

yet he he gets exactly 1 felony charge, just enough for the team to void after he pleads "no contest" and doesnt do any jail time.

On a case this high-profile, prosecutors aren't going to press charges they don't think they can win. Obviously, Arenas and his team are scrambling to avoid jail time by eventually offering tons of community service, etc., although the felony label will probably stick. He's out of the league for at least the rest of this year. He's easily lost most of his remaining $90 million; the Wiz will buy him out for pennies on the dollar.

The Thompson case isn't really applicable, because there was no evidence that Thompson actually knew that he had unregistered handguns in his possession (e.g. he'd dropped Sen. Webb off at the airport and brought a bag that Webb had given to him, which he in turn brought to Sen. Webb's office). It's plausible that Thompson did not bother to look through his bosses bag between dropping him off at National Airport and going to work on the Hill; or that Webb didn't tell him "here are my guns, please take these to the Capitol Building". It's plausible that he did not know what was in someone else's bag. I'd guess that Webb himself probably forgot about them -- otherwise it would have been easy for his staffer to have simply dropped them off at his home address.

In the Arenas case there's not much dispute that the guns were his, that he knowingly brought them into the city in violation of the law; and that he stupidly displayed them in public as part of a prank.

Additionally, unlike a lot of celebrity cases where you have elected prosecutors who have one eye on public opinion and re-election and the other on the legal issues at play; the people dealing with this particular case are career prosecutors. They have no large incentive to pander to public sentiment and can focus on the legal, public interest balance with fewer distractions.

The racial bias charge is a cop-out.

If Arenas was a poor minority who couldn't afford representation in a predominantly white suburb or rural region, we could talk more about injustice.

As it stands he can afford quality legal counsel and he will get quality representation and defense. He exercised poor judgment by commenting publicly about the matter after the fact and seemingly making light of the issue.

Even in light of this, as divi3 points out, if Arenas is in fact only getting charged with one felony count, the prosecutors aren't even close to throwing the book at him (he could have faced up to four separate felony charges). He probably would prefer a misdemeanor charge -- and may be able to get one as part of a plea agreement -- but based on the preliminary info it's hard to see any real argument that he's getting unfair treatment.

I seriously doubt that Gil pled guilty to a Felony. He has the lawyer of all lawyers. I think they just put this out this way to make him look bad. He will end up pleading to a misdermenor with no jail time but all anyone will remember is the felony part. The funny thing is that is just like the story itself. All anyone remembers or goes by is the original story from the NY Post when it didnt really happened like that at all and all anyone will remember in this case is the Felony charge even though he was only convicted of a misdamenor.

Trust me, Im a convicted felon that had to plead guilty. They always hit you with a ton of charges so you have to plead to something. Its all a scam. The good thing is that I think Gil will get the smaller deal while I still had to plead to a felony

"Trust me, Im a convicted felon that had to plead guilty. They always hit you with a ton of charges so you have to plead to something. Its all a scam. The good thing is that I think Gil will get the smaller deal while I still had to plead to a felony."

Trust me, Im a convicted felon that had to plead guilty. They always hit you with a ton of charges so you have to plead to something. Its all a scam. The good thing is that I think Gil will get the smaller deal while I still had to plead to a felony

Posted by: dlts20 | January 14, 2010 5:30 PM | Report abuse

that's what i'm sayin. that Felony word is enough to get a lot of panties in a bunch, but if you've been through the legal system, you've prolly seen this type of thing play out before. You get charged with the big stuff, you can sometimes plead to some lil stuff.

BTW, I think what is going to be so funny is that because Crittenton was smart, got rid of the gun, and kept his mouth shut, I think they wont have enough evidence to charge him with anything and he will get off scott free with the law and the NBA while Gil will be lynched in alot of ways

BTW, I think what is going to be so funny is that because Crittenton was smart, got rid of the gun, and kept his mouth shut, I think they wont have enough evidence to charge him with anything and he will get off scott free with the law and the NBA while Gil will be lynched in alot of ways

Posted by: dlts20 | January 14, 2010 5:45 PM | Report abuse

all day that. Critt handled it like he knew what he was doing. Gil handled it like well a goofball. He couldn't keep his mouth shut, he couldn't play dumb and let it ride. But he's not that type of guy. He clearly wasn't aware of what happens to people in those situations. Clearly Critter was, because he handled it like a G.

they have to charge him with a felony, otherwise if he were charged with only a misdemeanor/s then it wouldnt be much of a plea deal, and for gilbert it may be worth fighting, but by charging him with a felony, they basically ensure that he will be happy with pleading to misdemeanors...also if they don't charge him with a felony at the least, they look like they are being lenient...its a win for all parties involved

“Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas was charged Thursday with felony gun possession, a crime that carries a maximum five years in jail and a fine, authorities said.
The charge was announced Thursday afternoon by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District.
Arenas’s attorney and prosecutors had been negotiating a plea deal during the day and it was not immediately clear whether the filing of charges was a part of the deal. Court officials said they had been told to prepare to have Arenas in Superior Court on Friday.”

“D.C. and Arlington police searched the home of Washington Wizard Javaris Crittenton Thursday morning looking for a gun he reportedly used in a locker room confrontation with teammate Gilbert Arenas, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Police did not find the gun at his Arlington home in the 7:15 a.m. search, one of the sources said.”

My prediction. ARENAS is found guilty of a misdemeanor, gets a suspended sentance, has to do more community service than he already is, and pays a heavy fine. The indeterminate NBA suspension is given a limit, another fine, and finally whatever the WIZARDS want to do with him. But he stays. And he plays. That contract is untradable, and not voidable at this point. Nothing less than a felony conviction will suffice for that. Ain’t happenin’. The franchise has to deal with the poison pill that contract represents for the next four and one-half seasons. There is a player option before the 2012-2013 season. Think GIL will exercise it? Me too. 20.5 mill that season.

JAVARIS skins out of the mess with nothing but here-say evidence against him. The brandishing a loaded weapon will not prove out, but CRITTENTON will never wear a WIZARDS uni again. And his 1.45 mill is up at the end of the season.

There’s a very good point guard coming onto the market soon HAWKS fans, if you’re interested. Personally, if I were a GM, I would consider it.

There is absolutely a moral turpitude clause in NBA contracts and it has been discussed in relation to this case. Apparently it is very difficult to use it to void contracts however as guys like Sprewell avoided having his contract voided. Guarantee it is strengthened in the upcoming negotiations. Felony conviction is definite grounds for voiding a contract.

As in: It's an embarrassing distraction right now for the league to have this guy plan stunts before every single game mocking the gun charge. Someday when things have cooled off and the legal situation has taken care of itself we'll re-evaluate, but for the time being this player is creating problems for more than just himself.

If West was pulling off stunts every game calling attention to his off-the-court troubles, he wouldn't be playing either.

In the big scheme of things, West's actions are much crazier, but in terms of image, PR, and all that other b.s., Arenas's are potentially worse because he's been one of the guys on the marquee. He's got a higher profile, and he's compensated for that higher profile too. He's got more responsibility on his shoulders than West.

To whom much is given, much is expected.

It's not asking a whole lot for a guy facing potential felony charges to simply STFU in public and treat the matter with the kind of seriousness that it deserves. How he deals with it on his own time is his own business; there's still a line.

As far as removing banners and sales merchandise, it's sort of like the Tiger Woods situation with corporate sponsors like Accenture removing all traces of their association with him. If you're a public figure reaping the rewards of being a public figure, you also reap some of the downside.

He does have a prior but that was also a misemeanor. Again, there are gun charges and then there are gun charges. This one is a serious charge but its not like he came out shooting up some joint or was violent with the gun. He has a previous one but again, its not like he came after somebody or shot a club up. He had a registered gun from AZ that he was caught with at a traffic stop under his seat in CA. Those are minor things in most cases.

Something that no one is talking about is that alot of this just depeneds on who is in charge. You might 2 guys with the same thing get 2 totally different outcomes because one guy was dealing with a loose liberal democrat and another guy had to go infront of a super strict conservative republican. I mean, when I use to get in trouble, everyone in jail would talk about that kind of stuff. You dont want such & such prosecutor or you dont want such & such judge. Alot of guys have reputations for lighting cats up. Alot of this could come down to that. Who did he have to deal with. One thing going against him big time is that the city has turned against him, people dont want his contract, and the Wiz stink. People are insane if they think that doesnt matter. If this was Lebron in Cleveland then they wouldve swept it right under the rug or charged him with the most minor of things

If anyone has pull inside the beltway with the courts and could get him some lesser charges then its Gil's lawyer of all people but nothing will save him much if he's dealing with a bunch of redknecks looking to throw the book at the N*****

The city has nothing to do with what Arenas is facing. Like I said, if they wanted to throw the book at him, they could have charged him with four counts. If this goes to trial, and Arenas doesn't think he can get a fair trial in DC, his counsel can opt for relocating the case.

I agree with you that if LeBron had done the same exact thing, the decision would be much harder for Danny Ferry with whether or not to refer the matter to the league and law enforcement.

Still, in the range of injustices, this one strikes me as pretty small peanuts.

There's a range of reasonable approaches to this kind of violation and I can at least see a reasonable basis for the way that the league and law enforcement have handled this one.

Rules are rules.

This isn't a death penalty case in Texas where the defendant has an attorney who falls asleep during trial; who then appeals saying that he had incompetent legal support; who loses the appeal because the appeal board determines that the defendant didn't follow the correct procedures for recording that his counsel was snoozing on him; and who ultimately ends up being executed for a crime he may not have even committed (See: Burdine, Calvin).

That is injustice.

This is just a stupid, ill-advised, and potentially illegal action that's may result in some hard, but survivable consequences.

Me presonaly, I honestly dont believe thats as big of a deal to Gil as everyone thinks. Everyone thinks he would go insane but I dont. Gil aint starving no matter what and he's a unique type cat. If the Wiz try to take his money then I dont think he would want to be here anyways. I think he would fight some but he wouldnt be upset about going to another team for a 1yr 10mil contract and having a big season to where he gets a big deal again after that. He would lose some money but it wouldnt kill him and he could rub his success in the Wiz face. I just believe that after 2 years he cares much more about basketball than he does money.

In regards to Critt it would suck if the only way they could get to him would be to force his teammates to testify but they do things like that. I dont think they should be forced to do that just because they were there at the time. Its not like they were apart of it but I could see it happening

This thing is far from over. Just because he's charged with a particular crime doesn't mean that's the one he'll be punished for. His attorney could still work out a deal where he pleads to a lesser charge. As for his contract being voided . . . unless he gets major jail time, that's still far from a given.

What if J.Crit really didnt do anything wrong? These "reports" are all everyone really reading. People said he hid a gun in a laundry basket (nothing was found) they searched his house (nothing was found) What I'm trying to say is the bottom line is G.A had four guns in his locker not J Crit; It dont matter if they were unloaded...THESE WERE GUNS...REAL ONES Would someone like it if I placed 4 guns next to them? What would be your first thought? Would you laugh?? It's not funny...